After a few years spent building a name for themselves at house parties, Louisiana clubs and festivals like Wakarusa and Bear Creek, Earphunk recently embarked on a national tour that took them to more than 40 cities across the United States. The quintet – Paul Provosty (guitar/vocals), Mark Hempe (guitar/talk box/vocals), Christian Galle (keys), Michael Comeaux (bass) and Michael Matthews (drums) – have managed to keep their style familiar while also making it fresh. Their brand of funk is a kind of hybrid, with one foot planted in the old-school R&B grooves of James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone, and the other one flirting with the futuristic sounds of Daft Punk, with some Umphrey’s McGee style jams thrown into the mix. (In fact, their special “Daft Phunk” shows pay tribute to the iconic French electronic duo.) “A good friend of ours actually called it prog-funk,” says Hempe. “I don’t think that’s a genre that’s been defined.”

After a few years spent building a name for themselves at house parties, Louisiana clubs and festivals like Wakarusa and Bear Creek, Earphunk recently embarked on a national tour…